Of Cats, Collars and Slips of Paper
by SpiderLover
Summary: Natsu has had it. Whoever kept stealing his cat's collars was going to get it from him. However, he didn't suspect that a few notes exchanged would soon lead to a budding friendship, and maybe something more. Sort of one shot. Implied NaLu


Natsu was pissed.

It had happened again- that weirdo kept stealing away Happy's collar every single day!

Lately, ever Happy became a more mature cat, Natsu decided that the feline needed more freedom and exercise, and thus (despite Wendy, Igneel, and Grandine's protests) allowed him to leave and reenter the house as he pleased. To make sure that everyone knew that Happy was his, he bought a collar from the nearby pet store and fit it around the squirming cat's neck before letting him out the cat door.

The only problem was that Happy returned three hours later without the collar.

Natsu was baffled. Had Happy removed it himself? Glaring at the cat, he went down to the pet store to buy another more durable (and considerable more expensive) collar and got Wendy to double check that he fastened it right, but also wasn't choking the cat in the process.

And then Happy came back after school with the collar missing.

"He can't have taken it off himself!" Wendy exclaimed. "We followed all the instructions right and put it on properly!"

"I know," Natsu groaned. "Come on man," he implored Happy. "Tell us what happened!"

But of course, the cat sat silently, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

* * *

Over the course of the week, Natsu got steadily angrier, since the disappearance of the collars didn't seem to cease. Happy couldn't have gotten rid of the collars himself; the cat even seemed to like them! It had to be a human (who Natsu had not-so-affectionately dubbed as the weirdo) who was responsible, which really worried Natsu. Although his cat seemed fine, his wallet wasn't doing so well, and he had to soon ask Igneel for money to buy another collar. Igneel wasn't impressed.

"Why can't you let him stay inside?" he asked.

"Happy's _happy_ outside!" Natsu exclaimed. "I can't keep him in because some idiot wanted to steal his stuff!"

"Whatever," Igneel rolled his eyes. "But this is the one time I'm giving you money to do this. If the collar goes missing, you're not asking me or your mother for money, and Happy stays inside."

Natsu's eyes trailed to his little sister, who was collecting her allowance from Grandine. Wendy was responsible… and had to be pretty rich from all the money she saved up…

"You're not asking your sister either."

"Aw."

So that was that. For what seemed like the billionth time, Natsu made his way back to the store again.

"Dude, how many cats do you have?" his friend/enemy Gray asked at the register, where he had recently begun to work part time. "That last I checked you only had Happy and Charle."

"You know perfectly well what's up," Natsu plunked the collar on the counter and whipped out his wallet. "Now can I get a discount? I must have bought a billion of these!"

"Afraid not," Gray smirked. "But if you publically admit that I'm better than you, then I may consider-"

"No way."

* * *

It was soon going to be time to let Happy go for his daily… walk? Excursion? What did they call it again? But Natsu couldn't ignore a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"This might as well be your last walk, buddy," he said to the purring cat. "Unless you keep your collar to yourself."

Happy completely ignored him.

"Man, I wish I had a way to tell whoever steals your collar to back off!" he smashed his fist into the wall, and cringed when his mother yelled at him to stop. With this, Happy looked at him with what could be considered a deadpan look for a cat.

"What?" Natsu was at a loss. "Oh wait. I _can_ contact the weirdo! Happy you're a genius!"

Happy's eyes twinkled, and Natsu could practically see the snark being wafted his way. That cat.

"Sorry, pal, but you're going to have to wait a little while longer," Natsu said, seizing a piece of paper and flopping onto his desk.

 _To whoever is thinking of stealing this cat's collar,_

 _Don't. Happy is my cat, and I'd appreciate it if I didn't have to buy new collars every day._

 _Thanks._

He squinted at his short note. He'd never been the best writer, but he thought this message was clear enough to anyone with half a brain. Quit stealing my cat. That was all that the weirdo needed to know.

Getting the note onto Happy was a little more difficult. It was a struggle, but Natsu managed to find a little loop on the cat's collar where he could stuff the slip of paper into so that it could stay fastened, but also be visible to anyone who came close enough to the cat to take of the collar. Or so he hoped, as long as Happy didn't do anything too crazy when he was out.

Feeling one third nervous, one third annoyed and one third apprehensive, Natsu let the cat out. Happy looked so excited to be on his own: it would be terrible to keep him inside for no fault of his own.

And then he waited.

Natsu had several homework assignments waiting for him, but he couldn't focus, instead opting to glare at the door for a few hours until Happy waltzed back in, looking as happy as ever.

Without waiting for a minute, Natsu ran over to the cat, fervently hoping that the weirdo saw the letter and left the collar alone. To his relief, the collar was still intact, but in the place of his note was a significantly larger piece of yellow paper, covered in tiny, neat handwriting. The weirdo had written back.

 ** _To Happy's owner,_**

 ** _I'm so sorry! I honestly didn't know that he was yours. Happy has been coming around to my garden for months now, and I thought he was a stray, and adopted him. I thought someone was playing a horrible joke on me by putting on collars on him, which is why I took them all off. If I had known that Happy was your cat after all, I really wouldn't have done this. Anyway, I was curious. Why did you name him Happy? It's a bit of an unusual name for a cat._**

Natsu frowned. Well, why did he name the cat Happy? Oh right- he was six, and thought that naming the cat after an emotion would be a cool idea. Also, Happy really did make everyone happy, with his bright blue fur, large eyes and cuddly nature.

Also, what did that weirdo mean by saying that Happy had been coming over to their house for months? Natsu only let him go outside a few days ago.

He didn't know why, but something urged him to write back to the weirdo, even though he really had no reason or obligation to. Scratch that- he needed to find a way to get the collars back, return them to the store and then punch Gray in the face. And there was something about the way that the weirdo framed their words, something so... deliberate and refined with the way they wrote stuff down, which all his friends lacked. The weirdo intrigued him.

* * *

The next day, the weirdo filled Natsu's mind. Was the weirdo a boy? Girl? Neither? Did they live nearby? Well, they had to, otherwise Happy wouldn't be able to visit them all the time. Or not. Honestly, Natsu swore that the cat had somehow learnt how to board a bus. Happy was that intelligent. As soon as school ended, he dashed out of the building, ignoring Erza's and Gajeel's questioning of why.

He had to reply to the weirdo.

He scrawled a note onto another scrap of paper.

 _No problem. I just wanted to make sure you weren't some creep who was messing with my cat. And as for why I named him Happy... well, why wouldn't I? He makes everyone feel happy._

 _Happy's been coming to your house for months? I've only been letting him out for the past few days. Guess he must have snuck out :D_

 _Also, please don't feed him anything. He eats a LOT at my place. But if you really want to feed him, just tell me. Maybe we can work something out? What's your name, by the way?_

* * *

 ** _To Happy's owner,_**

 _ **I can assure you that I'm not some creep who was messing with your cat. Happy's name makes much more sense now- he does make me happy. As for the bit about sneaking out, I wouldn't put it past Happy. He does seem to be a very intelligent cat. Once, he pierced a milk carton through an open window and drank the lot before my father realized what was going on. He wasn't happy about it, but I found it amusing.** _

_**Don't worry. I won't feed him anymore. It's easier on my wallet: after all, Happy eats a whole lot more than he looks like he can.** _

_**I'm sorry. I don't feel comfortable revealing my identity yet, as I don't know you. I hope you understand.** _

* * *

Well, that was a little disappointing.

It wasn't the note. The weirdo was a great writer (even though Natsu wasn't the best judge of that). Their messages were always to the point, and were really funny as well. He just really wanted to get to know them. Maybe if they wrote to each other long enough, they'd feel more comfortable around each other. Provided that Happy didn't suddenly stop coming to the weirdo's house. That wasn't likely to happen, seeing as the cat had been coming to the weirdo for a long time already.

* * *

 _No problem. I totally get it. I hope we can still write to each other, though!_

 _Yep, Happy does the milk thing a lot. Now we've learned to keep all the milk in the fridge all the time._

 _I changed my mind. You_ should _feed him something. Nothing much- just a little milk is ok. If you stop, he might stop coming to your place, and we can't write anymore._

* * *

 ** _Thank you for understanding. I certainly will start feeding him a little again. I'd miss Happy if he didn't come back. Besides, I like talking to you too and I'd hate to stop this. After all, you seem to be a nice person._**

* * *

 _That's good. I like talking to you too. And I'm glad you think I'm a nice person (I totally am XD). You seem pretty nice too!_

 _Out of curiosity, what did you name Happy when you thought he was a stray? It's cool if you don't want to tell me though._

* * *

 ** _Ooh, this is a bit embarrassing. I named him Plue, but I'm afraid that I don't have such a good reason for doing that. Also, thank you for thinking I'm a nice person._**

* * *

 _No prob. Plue's a funny name, but it sounds kind of cute, I guess. I'm curious to know a bit more about you though. Nothing about your name or address or anything like that. I'll start. I'm a boy, sixteen and I have a ten year old sister. How about you?_

* * *

 ** _I'm comfortable with revealing this much. I'm a sixteen year old girl- what are the odds of both of us being the same age? I don't have any siblings, but I really want one._**

* * *

 _Yeah, my sister is awesome. Sharing a room can get really annoying. But my sister's awesome :D_

* * *

 _Hey, you didn't reply to my note. Did Happy not come over?_

* * *

 _Hello?_

* * *

 _Do you not want to talk to me anymore? If that's the case, can you send back the collars with Happy? I kind of want to get a refund on them._

* * *

 _Didn't get the collars. Are you ok?_

* * *

What was up with the weirdo? Did she really not want to talk to him anymore?

Somehow, he didn't think that was the case. She had shown to hint of disliking him in her notes- she wouldn't have sent him so many letters if she did. Or maybe she was pranking him. Was the weirdo even a girl, then?

Well, he didn't care. The weirdo kind of meant something to him now, and he was really worried for her. What if something happened?

He had to find out.

And that was why Natsu was following his cat on a bicycle, trying to be as quiet as possible.

In hindsight, that was a really idiotic idea. What if the weirdo was some middle aged druggie who liked to mess with teenage boys and cats for fun? What if the weirdo didn't even live in Magnolia? What if Happy just stopped going to the weirdo's house altogether?

That didn't stop him though. He rode on for what seemed life hours, cutting over neighbors lawns and hastily crossing roads, almost following the exact same route as the oblivious cat. He had to find the weirdo.

Somehow, that resolve kind of weakened once Happy turned the corner with the street that had the nicer houses of Magnolia. Great. The weirdo was freaking rich. Well, at least she couldn't be some druggie now; not with that kind of house.

Leaning his bike against the sidewalk, he rushed after the cat, slightly deterred by the spiky garden gate, and hid behind a tree, as Happy began to paw at the side door and meow. A few minutes later, there was a creak of the door, and the patter of footsteps.

"Happy!" a voice cried. "I missed you so much! Having the flu really sucks, little buddy."

Natsu's heart nearly stopped. God- it was the weirdo. She called him _Happy_.

Without thinking, he jumped out from behind the tree. "Uh, hi."

The girl straightened hastily, shaking back blonde hair, and scooped up an indignant Happy to her chest. Her brown eyes were wide with fear.

"Who are you?" she backed away into the door. "I don't know you."

"Don't freak out," he blurted out. Her eyes widened further. Welp, that was the wrong thing to say. "I'm Happy's owner."

She begun to smile, and then steeled herself. "Prove it."

"Sure," he said, not wanting her to call security or whatever the hell she'd call if she was in danger. "Uhhh, you're sixteen and have no siblings."

"Stalker."

"No- wait- you used to call him Plue! And I named him Happy because he made me Happy!"

She put Happy down again. "Gosh- it's really you."

"Yeah," he said, throat tightening. All the words she'd written to him, finally matching with a face...

"Why did you come here?" she asked, this time sounding genuinely curious and a little flattered, rather than suspicious.

"I was worried,"he admitted, burying his face in Happy's fur in embarrassment. "I thought something happened to you."

The weirdo blushed. "Wow- I- that's really nice of you. No, no, I was fine, just bedridden from a really bad attack of the flu. I'm sorry I worried you."

"No- it's fine," he said. Darn it. Why was he blushing too? Oh right, because he was in some random girl's garden, holding his cat, admitting that he actually cared about her despite never meeting her before. Way to go Natsu.

"Oh. I have the collars," she said. "Can you wait a minute? I'll go get them."

He barely had time to nod, when she dashed into the house, coming back out a couple of minutes later, with a handful of collars and some money.

"Here, just in case the store won't give you a refund."

What was she doing? "Hey, I can't take it. Really."

"Please. Consider it an apology for the trouble I gave you."

"Keep the money, or keep the money and the collars."

"Fine," she shoved the money back in her pocket, handing him the collars and glaring at him in a kind of weird and sort of funny way. He took a deep breath.

"What's your name?" he saw her tense up, and quickly continued. "I thought It'd be ok, since we now kind of know each other."

She smiled, and his heartbeat kind of got faster. "It's fine. I'm Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy. It suited her.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel," he said. "I go to Fairy High. Do you go there too?"

"No," she said ruefully. "I go to Pegasus Academy. It's nice there, but every one says that the Fairies have more fun."

"They do," he laughed. Pegasus Academy was known for being very strict in terms of socializing and recreation. "We-"

"Lucy," a deep male voice called from inside the house. "What are you doing out there for so long?"

"My dad," she whispered. "Nothing. I'll be right inside!"

There was a bit of an awkward silence, and the two just exchanged glances for a few seconds.

"Can I have your number?" she blurted out, and then turned bright red after realizing the implications of what she said. "Not that way- I want to keep in touch with you better, and since you have to go-"

"Sure," he said. "I'll airdrop it to you now."

"Thanks," she said after getting the number. "You know, if you want to then-"

"Lucy!" the man called her. She groaned.

"I'll text you," he promised her. "Bye!"

"Bye!" she waved as he walked back to his bike, Happy in his arms.

Natsu whooped as he rode back down the street, wind ruffling his hair. He'd gotten to know the weirdo- no Lucy. And by the looks of it, they'd become great friends.

 _And maybe something more_ , a part that sounded eerily like Happy (don't ask) in his brain piped up, but he shoved that away. Friends was good.

* * *

The next day, his phone buzzed during breakfast.

Lucy:

 _Hey, Natsu. I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to talk to you much yesterday. I was wondering if we could meet in Lamina Scale Bar next week to hang out some more._

He smiled. Thank goodness for Happy and those collars.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **What did you think? This was a random idea that just popped into my head. It was supposed to be way more romantic that this, I promise, but my brain did not cooperate. Oh well.**

 **If you liked this story, check out my profile. I have several more Fairy Tail fics (and some Soul Eater and Assassination Classroom pieces if you're into that) for you.**

 **This may or may not be a oneshot. Do you guys think I should continue? Let me know.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **-SpiderLover 3**


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